Notre Dame a Real National Championship Contender? One ESPN Analyst Thinks So

One national college football analyst sees very big things for Notre Dame in 2024 - and no, it's not Paul Finebaum

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman holds up the Ash Verlander Champions Trophy after the game of the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl of an NCAA college football game Friday, Dec. 30, 2022 at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish held off the South Carolina Gamecocks 45-38. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Unio / USA TODAY NETWORK

Just how good can Notre Dame be in 2024?

A look at the roster and a favorable schedule gives great reason to why so many have the Fighting Irish as a likely College Football Playoff team.

But what about more than just a playoff team?

What about winning the whole stinking thing for the first time since 1988?

I'm not usually one to dive into the forced-debate shows on sports networks each morning but occasionally they pop up in my social media feeds and I play along.

Tuesday was one of those days I saw the words " believes Notre Dame has the best shot at winning the CFP" written in succession and felt the need to stop scrolling.

Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich of ESPN were on Get Up, discussing the preseason AP Poll and each had to give a team outside of the top six that they think has the best chance of winning national title.

Shocking to nobody, Finebaum went with an SEC team as he chose Missouri.

Dinich on the other hand, went with Notre Dame. You can check out her reasoning below.

Outside the top six teams in the preseason AP Poll, @CFBHeather believes Notre Dame has the best shot at winning the CFP.

Who would you take? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/zznmiJIw5w

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 13, 2024

Finebaum's non-verbal response upon hearing Hinich's answer is worth watching alone.

How dare she does not say an SEC team!

For comparison to the 11 Notre Dame players Hinich projected to be drafted in 2025 NFL draft, Michigan had 13 last year from their national championship team.

We've long discussed the deeper recruiting and deeper rosters Marcus Freeman is putting together. My best comparison for what Notre Dame has brewing on its roster is when you play a video game with fatigue turned off.

As long as the first string is out there, the team can compete with just about anyone.

But in real life, when rotations have to be made and substitutions must take place, the lack of depth catches up.

That's what has happened to Notre Dame for years but appears to be a place where the Irish are making up ground in short order.

Oct 15, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman pauses after the game against the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Now, can Notre Dame get over the no-shows they've had at times in Marcus Freeman's first two seasons as head coach that have resulted in loses to the likes of Marshall, Stanford, and Louisville?

If it can, then a deep run into January is certainly not out of question.

—Enjoy free coverage of the Irish from Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI—

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